One cool thing about New Avengers this week

Major Spoilers for Ronin follow. be warned.













Isn't it cool how Ronin(who is deaf) could not hear what Iron Man was saying, nor Spider-Man, because she could not read their lips?

At first, when I reading it, it read like Ronin is being the silent type, not wanting to answer Spider-Man's questions. Then, looking at it more closely, she answers Luke Cage's questions. Why? Because she could not read Spider-Man's lips through his mask. Then, later, Captain America has to keep repeating everything Iron Man says to her, because she can not see Iron Man's mouth beneath his mask, and can see Captain America's.

I just found that to be a cool little thing Bendis threw in the comic, without ever actually explaining it to the reader.

Snark Free Cover Theme Day for 11/30

Okay, here's the covers. Remember, they all have something in common, whether it be a character, locale, creator, SOMEthing. And it isn't something obvious like "They all have prices!" "They all have logos!" "They all feature a man!" etc.

1.



2.



3.



Let's see some guesses!

Top Five Members of Power Pack

Yes, you thought it could never be done, but here it is - the top five Power Pack members!!!

5. Franklin Richards.



Let's be honest here. Franklin was pretty much a pity member of the team. Nothing WRONG with that, but that was why he was around, because the rest of the team felt bad for him.

He DID help them in #50!

4. Julie Power



I like ALL the Powers, but Julie is probably my least favorite. She just seems a bit too boring.

3. Alex Power



Alex has more plots about him, so that makes up for the fact that he probably has less personality than Julie even!

2. Jack Power



Jack is a really interesting character, and a lot of the drama in the books come from Jack's personality. I also liked how he took Alex's powers and made them much more powerful. Also, I loved the parodies they would do where he would be like Calvin from Calvin & Hobbes.

1. Katie Power



Katie rules because she appeared in the Uncanny X-Men issue with Wolverine, where he was being attacked by the Reavers. Her personality was SO important to the greatness of that issue. In addition, look at how cool of a thing it was that Katie, this little girl, has DESTRUCTION powers!!! Isn't that the neatest thing? Very clever.

So, do you all disagree?

Any Julie and Alex fans out there think they are being shortchanged?

(Photos courtesy of this neat Power Pack site.

Who wins in a fight? Mr. Fantastic or Plastic Man?

Mr. Fantastic is pretty darn smart, but Plastic Man's powers are SOOOO much better.

So who pulls it out in the end?

Nagging Thoughts for 11/27

DOES Perry White know Clark's secret identity?

Is it a knock on Perry White if he DOESN'T know?

Do you think Lois likes Clark's novels?

Do you think Lois and Clark practice safe sex?

Is Clark a vegetarian?

Is Dan Turpin still on the police force?

Where is Bill Henderson?

Who Is It?

You know the drill, tell me who it is, and what hint gave it away for you!!

1. He wrote a DC comic in the mid-80s for about a year.







2. He was on staff at DC Comics for ten years before becoming a freelancer.








3. He has worked on practically every Neil Gaiman project that has been released.










4. He designed the covers for Promethea.









5. He has Eisner Awards in the DOUBLE digits!


Who is it?

Snark Free Theme Day for 11/25

Today's theme is, appropriately enough, Thanksgiving comics!!!

1. In Long Halloween #2, Batman encounters Solomon Grundy, and the Irish mob gets wiped out while having Thanksgiving dinner.

2. The X-Men celebrated Thanksgiving one year by having Jean Grey propose to Scott Summers!!! (He said yes!)

3. There was a classic Power Pack issue where the group got all their superhero friends (inclusing Beta Ray Bill and Wolverine) together for Thanksgiving while their mother was recuperating from an injury.

4. My pal Chris reminded me of the recent JSA Thanksgiving issues (#52 and JLA/JSA Virtue and Vice,where we learn that the JSA and the JLA now get together for Thanksgiving!

5. He also reminded me of the Bullpen Bits where 'lil Warpath is describing HIS interpreation of Thanksgiving, which his teacher dismisses out of hand.

Can anyone come up with some that I missed?

What Books This Week Get No Snark From You?

New shtick!

I figure each Thursday I can ask you good folks which books during the current comic week would receive NO snark from you!

For me this week, I have no snark for Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1!

I think it was a super fun book, while still being twisted and creepy as well (which is always nice).

How about you folks?

Share the books that you have NO snark for this week!!!

Snark Free Cover Theme Game for 11/23

Okay, here's the covers. Remember, they all have something in common, whether it be a character, locale, creator, SOMEthing. And it isn't something obvious like "They all have prices!" "They all have logos!" "They all feature a man!" etc.

1.

2.

3.

Good luck!

Let's see some guesses!

Top Five Servents

Here are the top five comic book servents!

Wing misses the top five because, well, he was kinda offensive.

5. Roberta

She is the best robot receptionist OUT there!

And she was responsible for some of the best scenes in Fin Fang Four, which RULED!

4. H.E.R.B.I.E.

What was once a dorky robot invented just to take the place of the Human Torch in a cartoon is now a pretty fun character in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Marvel Knights 4!

3. Jarvis

The dude is pretty tough. He once fought a demon during Inferno!

He loses points for betraying the Avengers that one time, though.

2. Wong

His betrayal opened the door for an upset!

Wong kicks mucho ass as Doctor Strange's man-servant.

And don't let the "man-servent" name fool you, Wong is basically treated as Strange's PARTNER, not his lackey!

1. Alfred

Can anyone truly compare?

The guy does EVERYthing!

Possibly more invaluable to Batman's war on crime than Robin, even!!!

Do you think I overlooked any servants? Let me know!

Monday Challenge - Who Would YOU Protect?

If you were DC's legal counsel, and they, in 2005, only had enough money to file a federal trademark claim on ONE of the following two characters (for use in merchandise, etc.), which one would YOU protect?

Superboy

or

Supergirl?

Nagging Thoughts for 11/20

Remember when you could HURT Wolverine?

How does a FORCE blast like Cyclops' beam NOT hurt Havok? How does being a guy's brother protect you from a FORCE beam?

Do they leave a cell phone in Jean Grey's coffin?

Whose ashes did Kitty spread? What about THAT person's family? Or was it just a fake Colossus?

Was the whole "invisible to machinery" thing ever addressed? Or was it just dropped without an explanation?

Why doesn't Kitty Pryde wear a costume?

Is she still using Shadowcat as a name?

Does Nocturne know that, in this reality, her mother went nuts and killed some folk?

Who Is It?

Remember, tell me who it is, and what hint gave it away!

1. This character is a mutant.













2. This character still has powers post-House of M.













3. This character was most recently a bartender.


















4. This character was a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.












5. This character was a member of Mutant Force.

Who is it?

Snark Free Theme Day for 11/18

Today's theme is...."____, I am your father/mother," or in other words, PARENTAGE REVEALS!!

1. At one point, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver discovered that their parents were the Golden Age heroes Whizzer and Miss America. I do not know why they thought that that would be a good idea, but that is what it was.

2. LATER, it was revealed that ACTUALLY, their parents were Magneto and Magneto's dead wife.

3. It was quite a scene when Nightcrawler learned that his mother was Mystique. And when he found out that his father was some demon-like creature? YIKES.

4. In an issue of Gotham Knights, it was revealed that Barbara Gordon actually WAS the biological daughter of James Gordon!

5. In the Runaways, new member Victor discovered, much to his chagrin, that his "father" was the evil robot ULTRON!!

6. Wonder Girl was quite surprised to learn that her father was none other than the big Greek Sugar Daddy himself, ZEUS!

Any more that I am missing?

SUPER Snark Free

Since this place is about no snarking about comics, then All Star Superman holds a special place on this site, as it is, itself, Snark Free.

I am therefore devoting this space to you folks sharing with me how much you loved All Star Superman.

And if you DIDN'T, you can say that too, but it will be drowned out in the overwhelming praise, but it is important that the naysayers have a chance to speak, too!

So please, share with me your responses to All Star Superman #1 - which was as Snark Free as they come!

Snark Free Cover Theme Game for 11/16

Ken Robinson correctly identified last week's theme of "Characters being impersonated by Skrulls."

He ALSO had a really good guess for the previous week's theme, with the "debuting in anthologies," except I would argue that Journey into Mystery was NOT, in fact, an anthology when Hercules made his debut. Try again! That was a very clever answer, though. More clever than the actual answer.

Okay, here's the covers. Remember, they all have something in common, whether it be a character, locale, creator, SOMEthing. And it isn't something obvious like "They all have prices!" "They all have logos!" "They all feature a man!" etc.

1.



2.



3.



Good luck!

Let's see some guesses!

Top Five Marvel Superheroes Whose Names Are Their Actual Names

Only characters with some sort of powers count, or else we'd be filled with stuff like Silver Sable, Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, etc.

5. Namor

Namor is low because he DID sorta go by the Sub-Mariner.

4. Namorita

Namorita, however, never used a fake name...except for the Kymaera stuff, which did not actually happen.

Really.

3. Hercules

Why use a codename when your name iS HERCULES?!?!

2. Doctor Strange

What's great about this conveinient name is that there ARE normal people out there NAMED Strange, so it is not THAT hard to believe.

1. Thor

What else can you say?

Any notable misses?

Luke Cage doesn't count, I don't think...but maybe he SHOULD. What say you all? Is Blade Blade's name?

Monday Challenge - A Game of Chess Between...

Doctor Doom

and

Doctor Strange?

No cheating allowed.

Nagging Spider Thoughts for 11/13

Why didn't Peter Parker keep the upgrades Ben Reilly made to his weaponry?

Why doesn't Spider-Man ever use the Spider-Signal?

Does Peter still HAVE a Spider-Signal?

Isn't it awfully odd that the mutated Spider-webs that come from Peter's arms have the same properties as the artificial webs that he MADE?

This guy was stalking Mary Jane, and when Peter found him, he "exploded." He then came back again. And then, he was on a plane with Mary Jane when it "exploded." Why did Peter believe the explosion was real?

Who Is It?

You know the drill, tell me who it is, and which hint gave it away!

1. This creator was Russ Manning's assistant on Tarzan and Magnus, Robot Fighter.







2. This creator redeisgned the look of the Winnie the Pooh characters in 1993.








3. This creator inked Steve Ditko in the 70s.








4. This creator worked on a number of animated tie-in books for Western and Gold Key, such as Space Ghost, Speed Buggy, etc.











5. This creator inked Jack Kirby for a decade.

Who is it?

Snark Free Theme Day for 11/11

Today's theme is "Writing yourself into the comic"

1. Robert Aguirre-Sacasa JUST wrote himself into the last two Marvel Knights 4, as the most recent writer of the Fantastic Four comic book.

2. The most famous example of this, of course, is John Byrne being taken to the Trial of Reed Richards to be the chronicler.

3. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee were turned away at the wedding of Sue and Reed.

4. Curt Swan drew himself into a story (penned by Cary Bates, I believe) that has to have the record for the least pretentious "comic book creator in a comic with a hero" comic ever.

5. Grant Morrison appeared in Animal Man as, what else, "The Writer."

6. Elliot S! Maggin and Cary Bates tried to go so over the top that no one would ever want to do this theme again, when they teamed up (and fought) the Justice League of America. Didn't work (as seen by the above stories).

I KNOW I must be missing some, but can't think of any! Feel free to fill me in!

Comics I Think That Maybe, Just MAYBE, You Should Probably Consider Picking Up - Street Angel

Here is the website for you to learn more about it.

Whenever someone says, "Brian, what book should I maybe, just maybe, possibly consider picking up?" I always say, "Street Angel."

This is because Street Angel is all five of the following.

1. Well written
2. Well drawn
3. Fun
4. FunNY
5. Unique

The following is the least important, really, as I really do not much care if a book is repetitively cool if it is, you know, repetitively COOL.

The first three are the most important to me.

Here is a point on Comics Should Be Good where I talk about how cool Street Angel is.

Cover Theme Game for 11/9

I put up last week's theme game late, so I will not give the answers yet, to give you folks some time to guess it.

Now, here's this week's covers!!

Remember, it's got to be something not obvious, like "All of them are superheroes. All of them have a pricetag on the cover. All of them have titles!"

1.



2.



3.



Guess away!!

Top Five Archie Characters Without Their Own Title!

Outside of the five Archie characters who currently have their own title (Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and Sabrina), who else should have their own title? These are, I think, the top five Archie characters without their own title!

5. Cheryl Blossom



On the one hand, it was cool to see a female character so independent, but on the other hand, Cheryl was not all THAT interesting. I mean, was there an adventure you could do with Cheryl Blossom that you COULDN'T do with Veronica?

I say thee NAY!

4. Chuck Clayton



Chuck is an underrated character, but I am afraid that his hook ("comic artist") just is not strong enough to support his own series. I like that he HAS a hook, though.

3. Dilton Doiley



Dilton's weird science stuff is enough of a gimmick for a series (and HAS been in the past), but I do not know if it could sustain itself. A bit of a one-trick pony.

2. Reggie Mantle



Reggie, on the other hand, is a much more well-rounded character. He isn't just about mean pranks. He is also about girls, sports, etc. There is a reason why he is in the Archies. He is popular enough to merit an inclusion. Plus, he has the whole Moose nemesis thing going on. I think a Reggie series would also be a nice challenge for the writers to make him appealing. It has worked in the past (his series ran for a decent run, if I remember correctly).

1. Josie and the Pussycats



This is just silly.

They should have their own series right now.

I don't know why Archie doesn't think they would sell as much as Jughead.

And manga, I think, is the way to go.

All you Archie fans out there, agree or disagree?

Monday Challenge: Spoilers (So I will not mention the challenge in the title)

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Okay, what do you think will occur first?

Iceman regaining his powers

or

Ronnie Raymond returning as part of Firestorm?

Brian Wood Chat this Thursday!!

This Thursday, Brian Wood, the writer of the upcoming DMZ series from DC is going to be having a chat at Comic Book Resources! You folks should all make it a point to be there!

Here is a link with details!

Hope to see you folks there!

Who Is It? for 11/5

Same as always, I give five hints to a character and/or creator, and you tell me who it is, and which hint gave it away for you!

1. This character is deceased.






2. This character was a sailor.







3. This character was from Oklahoma.








4. This character was a mutant.










5. This character was killed by the villain Holocaust.

Who is it?

Snark Free Theme Day for 11/4

Today's theme is one that is occuring in the pages of Ultimates now, which is "traitor on the superhero team."

1. Quicksilver betrayed the Avengers in the mid-80s, as he blamed them for everything bad in his life, but ultimately, he could not destroy them, what with his sister being an Avenger and all.

2. Mockingbird was sort of a traitor when she worked with the world governments to dismantle the Vision. She did not know it involved dismantling the Vision, but she must have known it wasn't going to be fun and games for the Vision.

3. Terra was not only a traitor on the Titans, but she apparently also liked to sleep with older men (creeeeeeeeeeepy).

4. The Thunderbolts had a fun twist when the "traitors" on their team were the ones who decided NOT to be bad guys.

5. The X-Men had a traitor, and it turned out to be Professor Xavier, whose mind had snapped when he mind-wiped Magneto (Magneto's evil personality merged with Xavier, driving Xavier batty).

6. The Justice League's official mascot, Snapper Carr, betrayed them to the Joker, for no real reason that I can recall.

7. If the Suicide Squad counts, then Boomerang betrayed them every other issue...hehe.

8. Hal Jordan betrayed the Green Lantern Corps when he was (snicker) possessed by Parrallax and forced to kill some Lanterns in his quest to gain the power of the Guardians (so he could fix Coast City).

9. Hawkman betrayed Justice League International when it was revealed that he was a spy by Thanagar.

Any more?

Really Cool Comic Moment - Hawkeye Cheats!

In the 1987 Avengers/West Coast Avengers Annuals, the Avengers first were forced to fight against each other (with the West Coast team winning, in bizarre fashion, with Iron Man somehow beating Captain Marvel). In the second part, they had to fight against a Legion of the Unliving.

At the end, only Hawkeye and Captain America survived, and they were faced off against Grandmaster, who has captured Death. Hawkeye tempts him by challenging him to a simple game of chance. He took two arrows. One with a modular tip, the other without. Grandmaster simply had to pick the arrow with the tip and he would win.

Hawkeye mixed them up and the Grandmaster chose the wrong arrow. His shock at being wrong was enough of a distraction for Death to break free and the day to be saved.

Afterwards, Cap asked him about the fact that he was willing to risk the fate of the universe on a game of luck. Hawkeye told him that the stakes were way too big, so he cheated. He broke the tip off as the Grandmaster chose!

Later, when the Avengers went back to playing softball, Cap warned the others, "Watch out for Hawkeye - he cheats."

Classic moment (and I think I've featured it before as my #1 defining moment in Hawkeye's comic history).

Cover Theme Game for 11/2

Last week was all covers that featured characters who debuted in cartoons and then appeared in comics. chasdom guessed it first (and he guessed the theme last week first, as well).

Here's this week's covers!!

Remember, it's got to be something not obvious, like "All of them are superheroes. All of them have a pricetag on the cover. All of them have titles!"

1.



2.



3.



Guess away!

Top Five Wackiest Pieta Covers!

One of the most common cover homage is to the Pieta sculpture by Michelangelo.

One of these homages became so famous that IT now gets homaged as well (George Perez' Crisis on Infinite Earths cover).

However, when you have that many covers, you're bound to have some wacky covers.

Here are my choices for top five!

5.



Two pietas for the price of one!


4.



I love dramatic covers with characters no one knows!

3.



Cap is in his Captain America armor. That's enough (apologies to Dave Hoover for using TWO of his covers on this list).

2.



This is not #1 only because it was MEANT to be funny.

1.



This, I do not believe it was.